For His Forever by Kelly Favor Read Free Book Online Page A

still have a few tricks up my sleeve that you haven’t seen yet. Don’t you worry.”
    “Come on, Kallie, he’s just showing off now.” Nicole led her up a long staircase to the second floor, and then to an enormous guest room with a beautiful skylight and a gorgeous balcony that looked out onto the ocean.
    “What a view!” Kallie cried out.
    “You can hang here tonight, if you like,” Nicole said softly. “And then tomorrow we can discuss next steps, okay?”
    Kallie wanted to cry but kept her tears in, nodding and pressing her lips together.
    Nicole walked to the door. “Give me a quick sec while I try and wrangle up a change of clothes for you.”
    And then she left the room and Kallie sat down on the king sized bed, heaving a sigh of relief.

    ***
    Nicole left the guest room and made her way back to the master bedroom, where she rummaged through her clothes. So many of them were just gigantic articles of clothing tailored for seven-month pregnant women, and not at all suitable for a small girl with tiny hips and normal boobs.
    Eventually she came across a slightly smaller t-shirt and sweatpants. They would likely still be too large, but would do the trick for now. She carried the clothes back to the guest room and knocked before going inside.
    Kallie was staring out the sliding door that led to the balcony. She turned and smiled guiltily. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. This view is just breathtaking.”
    “You don’t need to apologize for looking out a window,” Nicole said softly. She put the clothes on the bed. As she straightened, she was hit by a surprising wave of dizziness, a sensation of vertigo.
    “Are you all right?” Kallie said nervously.
    “What?” Nicole replied, sweating suddenly.
    “You just got a weird look on your face. I didn’t know…”
    The sensation passed and Nicole waved it off. Just a little spell—they happened from time to time. “Anyway, here’s something to change into. You won’t win any fashion awards, but at least the clothes are dry.”
    “Oh, I’m so thankful. Really.”
    “You have a shower and bath adjoining the room,” Nicole said, pointing to the bathroom door. “Feel free to use the shower for as long as you like. There are towels and soap and shampoo in there, too.”
    Kallie nodded. “Okay.”
    “When you’re ready, come downstairs and we can talk a little more about things.”
    The girl nodded and Nicole smiled once more, and then walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
    Slowly, Nicole made her way downstairs. She could feel that she was a little out of breath, probably from the stress of everything. Yet she put her hand on her stomach and felt a reassuring kick through her belly.
    She’s still in there, happy and healthy. Stay positive. Remember, everything is fine. The doctor’s done all the tests, and the baby is perfectly normal.
    Smiling to prove to herself just how fine it all was, Nicole finished going downstairs and saw Red was waiting for her in the great room.
    “So, what’s going on?” he asked, and she could see the signs of tension in his face now.
    Nicole did her best to give him the quick but accurate version of events as Kallie had told them to her.
    By the end, Red was almost furious. “These goddamn people think that because they have a couple of extra bucks that other people don’t have, it make them impervious to rules. They think they can treat people with less money like garbage. As if a nanny is equivalent to a prostitute!”
    Nicole nodded. She was feeling really tired suddenly, and decided to sit down.
    So she did sit down, and Red was immediately by her side. “You look a little pale.
    Everything okay, babe?”
    “Yeah.” She nodded, trying to catch her breath. “I’m just thirsty.”
    “Let me get you some water.” He leapt off the couch and went into the kitchen, where she heard him clanking and clinking around in the cabinet. Next, the sound of the faucet running, ice cubes plopping, and